Be happy for the sake of your health

Improve health by being happy.

 How happiness improves your health

Being happy can have major physical health benefits. The connection between your emotional state and your physical state is quite profound. Happiness and positivity can help to prevent many diseases like chronic pain, inflammation and heart disease. Happiness also helps to reduce the negative physical effects of stress. It can also boost the immune system. Happiness can even increase your life expectancy! 

In short; the happier you are, the healthier you can be.

Your mood affects your body.

How to be happy

What makes people happy? What is the difference between happy people and those who need a little cheering up? There could be a whole range of answers to that question (I'm already thinking about genetics, upbringing, hormones, exercise, nutrition, chronic diseases, medications etc.)

Let's make it as simple as simple as we can. Happy people have different habits. Happy people act and think differently to those that aren't so happy. This is called deliberate happiness.

In all truth, happiness doesn’t depend on whether you’re rich or poor, or whether you drive a sports car or take the bus. It doesn't matter whether you’re the best looking person in the room or just an average Joe.

This sounds like a bunch of over-used phrases, but it's actually good news! It means that your happiness lies in your own hands. You can be happy right now. And it doesn't have to cost you anything. If you want to be happier, you can simply implement one or more of the following habits into your life.

1. Be optimistic

Negative situations and having to deal with uncomfortable things are, unfortunately, a part of life that we can't avoid. Thankfully, this doesn’t have to define you or your happiness. You should always try to find the silver lining in every situation.

Start by realizing that you can change the way you think. It will take a little effort at first, but you can train your brain to be positive about almost everything that you encounter. 

A positive outlook will inspire feelings of trust and allow you to connect with others better. It will also give you the motivation for longer term life changes (like exercising and eating healthy).

It is easier to make better choices when we aren't running away from an emotional black hole. It is almost impossible to make healthy choices when you're battling with depression.

A positive outlook will also reduce the amount of stress that you face in tough times.

Drop negative thinking. It doesn't serve you. Let go of negative thoughts and emotions. Learn to see problems as challenges and opportunities. If you can't figure something out at work, see it as an opportunity to improve your skills.

Instead of pondering over what’s impossible, think about what is possible - and how you can make it happen.

A better mood leads to better decisions.

2. Focus on what you can control

Too many people worry about things that are far beyond their control. It could be a debilitating illness, a disastrous storm, or an unstable job market. This kind of thinking is exhausting.

It will drain what little energy you have left - and that's why you feel like you don’t have any energy left to think positive and feel happy.  

The next time you catch yourself thinking about things that you don't have any control over, let go of them as soon as you notice it and turn your thoughts into things that you can control instead.

I can't control how my boss treats me, but I can control how many positive things I notice about my job.

The one train of thought makes you feel like a victim to circumstance. The other makes you feel like the superhero of your own destiny.

Negativity drains you.

3. Practice self-acceptance

You are almost always your own worst enemy. You need to accept yourself before you can be comfortable with who you are. You can't feel good if you don't feel good about what you are as a human being.

One of the biggest things that make us unhappy with ourselves is what we see from other people around us. If you compare yourself to others and focus on your own flaws in comparison, it will color your world in a terrible shade of negativity.

Know this: We all have flaws.

Embrace this fact to become happier with yourself. Ironically, this will also help you to accept other people for who they are as well.

Be happy with what you are - today, in this very moment. 

Find ways to be a better version of yourself instead of comparing yourself to other people.

Happiness starts with the way that you see yourself.

4. Be kind to others

This is by far one of the most common habits of happy people. It's also quick and easy to do. Doing things for others and small acts of kindness will give you more than just fuzzy feelings. There is a very real effect on your own happiness when you show kindness to others.

There’s more to kindness than just giving money to charity. Kindness includes donating your time, energy, and experience for the benefit of others. It can also include smiling to someone as you walk past them, saying thank you or helping a co-worker that seems to be struggling with something.

Along with boosting your happiness, kindness will strengthen your social connections and improve your health.

You get what you give.

5. Make your physical health a priority

Our general state of physical health is a good predictor of our personal happiness levels. This is especially true since hormones, happy hormones (dopamine, serotonin, endorphins); genetics and energy directly affect your mood.

We don’t normally take note of how big of a role our health plays on our happiness. This is mostly because we don’t pay attention when things are normal. Think about the fact that as soon as you get sick, it immediately affects your attitude, mood, and outlook very drastically. When the body ails, so does the mind.

This can range from simple headaches to chronic pain or other health issues. 

If you want to be happy, you need to take care of your health. Getting enough sleep restores your vital physical and mental functions. Eating nutritious food keeps your body and mind functioning at its best. Regular physical exercise will keep you in shape and release happy hormones (like dopamine, serotonin and endorphins) to ease depression, stop stress and enhance your mood.

The brain and the body are strongly connected.

What makes you happy? Let me know in the comments below!

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5 Food combinations that are harming your health

There are certain foods that you shouldn't eat together.

Food combinations that can cause health or digestive issues

Some foods just don't belong together - or at least not when they're both in your digestive system at the same time.

Banana and milk

Many people eat bananas and milk together. They make great smoothies and the concept sounds great when you think about the protein, calcium, healthy sugars and fiber. People do it often after the gym or after a run to replenish lost nutrients.

The problem with combining bananas and milk

1. Digestive issues
2. Trouble sleeping at night
3. Asthma and allergies may get worse

Although both ingredients are healthy on their own, they don't seem to make a good combination. The mixture can cause bloating and troubles with your digestive system. The calcium in milk, mixed with the fiber in bananas, seems to be what gives people such a hard time on the digestive front.

It is recommended for you to wait at least 20 minutes after drinking milk before eating a banana to avoid the digestive issues that might follow. Some say that the combination can even escalate symptoms of asthma and allergies. Other sources indicate that the combo can disturb restful sleep at night.

Read more about the potential negative effects of bananas with milk.

Keep an eye out for these issues.

2. Wine and dessert

Why do I suddenly feel like the most unpopular guy in the room right now? People typically like to enjoy a glass of wine and dessert after a hard day at the office. It might flood your pleasure centers and ease up the tension from a rough day, but it could make things worse for a long run. It isn't recommended to have these two food items together because the taste of one item can completely over power or change the taste of the other.

The problem with wine and dessert

1. Weight gain
2. Insulin resistance
3. Desensitization to other healthy foods

The main reason why this combination isn't so good for you is because the desserts and the wine both contain elements that could potentially lead to weight gain. Excess sugar is converted into fat. A single gram of alcohol has almost double the amount of calories as the same amount of sugar (alcohol has 7 calories per gram; sugar has 4 calories per gram). Weight gain can cause serious heart problems and diseases related to adding excess fat.

You should try eating veggies with wine to control the fat-gaining potential of alcohol. By doing this, you’ll control your weight and potentially prevent a lot of diseases.

Choose your guilty pleasure wisely.

3. Tomato and Pasta

This one probably shocks you as it did me. I know that this combination might break the hearts of many Italian foodies; but the combo may cause harm in more ways than you know.

Have you ever noticed that after eating a tomato with pasta meal, you feel lazy and lethargic? This is why the two ingredients should never stay together. Tomatoes are acidic and therefore shouldn't be added to starchy foods like pasta.

The problem with tomato and pasta

1. Lethargy
2. Lack of energy
3. Weight gain

Tomatoes and pasta produce enzymes that are very good at breaking down the heavy starch. This is why you feel exhausted. Your body needs a lot of energy to break down the starch and hence you feel fatigued. It slows down the process of digestion, so rather than providing energy for the body, it is taking energy away. 

When your body is flooded with excess nutrients from the starch in a short period of time, it focuses on controlling the extra nutrients by converting it to fat. The body will also focus on pulling as much of the energy out of the blood stream as possible - to be converted into fat instead.

Instead of tomatoes, you can replace it with pesto. Pesto helps you to gain energy and prevent your body from feeling like a bloated balloon.

Use pesto instead of tomato paste.

4. Black tea and milk

98% of the British drink black tea with milk. 

Milk has many benefits on its own because it adds calcium and vitamin B 12 to your daily consumption, but that’s not always the case when it is combined with tea. Black tea comes with many benefits and it's very good for your heart, but adding milk can negate some of the heart-promoting effects.

The problem with black tea and milk

1. Limited absorption of minerals like calcium
2. Risk of kidney stones
3. Limited absorption of beneficial heart-health-promoting compounds in tea 

The chemicals in milk (minerals like calcium) can combine with that of the tea (tannin's) and decrease the actual benefits associated with the tea. During a survey in the USA it was noticed that those who drank black tea with added milk didn't receive a notable calcium boost - and they did not absorb any proteins from the milk either.

Many plant foods like tea limit the amount of mineral absorption that you get form normal food (like calcium and iron). In extreme cases, this may lead to kidney stones.

Add lemons to your tea instead so that your body can absorb the vitamins and essential nutrients found in the tea.

Use fresh lemon juice instead of milk.

5. Fruit and vegetables with large meals

Fruit and vegetables are one of the healthiest things that you can ever eat. It's one of the first things that I get my clients to eat more of. Unfortunately, eating fruit with meals is not as common a habit as it should be.

If you frequently indulge in the combination of fruit and vegetables with large meals, however, bloating and other digestive issues that follow might come from the fruit.

The problem with fruit or vegetables with large meals

1. Digestive issues
2. Bloating
3. Gas
4. Unshakable feeling of fullness

The reason behind that is the fact that fruit goes through the stomach fairly quickly, but it takes its time to digest in the intestines. Fruit and vegetables are full of fiber that the body cannot digest. It therefore sits in the intestines until it moves completely through. Fruit and veggies are mostly made up of water, so there is only a small portion of the food left after the water is absorbed into the bloodstream.

When you combine this with heavy foods that take much longer to go through the digestive system, it will digest even slower and you may sit with too much food in your digestive system for a prolonged period of time.

Instead of combining fruit with your larger meals, you should eat plant foods 30 to 60 minutes before a meal. This will reduce the amount of heavy food that you eat because you will still feel full. It will also allow the digestive system to prepare your digestive tract and help your stomach work its way through the amount of food that you'll be eating. 

It's always best to eat fruit in the morning as it can sometimes last for up to 10 hours in the digestive process. This will reduce the amount of food that you eat for a large portion of the day.

Fruit and veggies affect digestion.

Thank you for reading this article. I hope it helps you!

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Exercise has many effects.

What happens when you exercise?

Your heart beats faster. Blood circulation increases and more nutrients are sent throughout your body. You may feel hot and start to sweat. Mental stress seems to disappear, you feel a light mental high from endorphins and you feel a strong sense of pride afterwards.

Some people are really fond of exercise. They make it a daily habit. Have you ever wondered what happens to your body when you exercise? 

We should all know that exercise makes you healthy and improves your efficiency in all areas of your life. Here are a few ways that it helps you out in a mental, emotional and physical way.

What are benefits of exercise?

1. Improves blood circulation
2. Reduces mental stress
3. Improves mood and makes you happier
4. Makes you sleep better
5. Reduces the risk of many diseases
6. Improves confidence and helps you to feel relaxed
7. Makes the heart strong
8. Exercise actually makes you a wiser person

Exercise is so good for you.

1. Improves blood circulation

There are many effects of exercise on the heart. When you exercise, your body needs more nutrients and your heart pumps blood faster throughout your body. This ultimately results in hotness and sweating. Non-exercising organs like your brain, skin and liver benefit from this extra blood flow.

2. Exercise reduces mental stress

If a person exercises regularly, it will reduce mental stress hormones like cortisol. It will also increase happy hormones like endorphins and serotonin. Endorphins interact with the receptors in the brain to reduce your perception of pain. This goes for both mental emotional and physical pain. Endorphins and serotonin also trigger a positive feeling in your body.

3. Exercise improves your mood and makes you happier

A lot of research has shown that people who exercise are happier than those who do not. It is because of the dopamine and serotonin (happy) hormones that get elevated naturally through exercise.

Our emotional state needs exercise.

4. Exercise helps with better sleep

Physical activity improves sleep quality and increases deep sleep duration. Exercise may also bolster sleep in other ways because it reduces stress and tires you out.

5. Exercise reduces the risk of some diseases

Regular physical activity improves overall health, fitness and quality of life. It also helps in reducing several diseases like cancer, anxiety, depression, heart disease and diabetes. 

6. Exercise self-improves confidence and makes you feel relaxed

Regular exercise can increase self-confidence by improving body image. While exercising, you're likely to strengthen and tone your body. Seeing these results can greatly improve your self-esteem and help you feel better about the way that you look.

7. Exercise makes your heart strong

Just as exercise strengthens other muscles in your body, it helps your heart muscle become more efficient and better able to pump blood throughout your body. This means that the heart pushes out more blood with each beat, allowing it to beat slower and keep your blood pressure under control.

8. Exercise makes you wiser

During exercise our body releases endorphins which increase the ability of the brain to sort out priorities. It allows us to concentrate and block out distractions. It improves your capacity of remembering and hence you will start to remember more things than before.

Your brain needs exercise.

What happens when you don't exercise?

1. Skin looks horrible without blood circulation
2. Shortness of breath and poor cardio-vascular health
3. Sleeping issues
4. Brain fog and mental decline
5. You get sick more often
6. Muscles get weaker over time

No exercise will harm your health.

1. A bad complexion

Exercise improves blood circulation. Skin cells get the nourishment that they need through exercise. If you don’t exercise, you will have more wrinkles and acne. You will also have a dull face.

2. Shortness of breath

If you don’t exercise, your body will get tired after doing a small amount of work like a short flight of stairs or running for the bus. Even cleaning your house will have you taking breaks to catch your breath. Simple tasks become much bigger chores than what they actually are.

3. Sleepless nights

If you don’t use your energy throughout the day, you’ll have a hard time going into sleep mode even though you feel tired and lethargic.

4. Mental fog

Your brain won’t be on the top of its game if it doesn’t get enough oxygen and other important nutrients (because of poor blood circulation and shortness of breath). Without regular exercise, you will find it harder to concentrate at work. Suppose, you came into your room and you forgot why you came?

5. More sick days

If you are living a lazy or lethargic lifestyle, you are going to suffer through more sick days because your immune system is not as strong as it should be.

6. Weak muscles

Without exercise you’ll find it difficult to hold a grocery bag. Even standing for a long time will wear you out. You will feel the constant need to get more rest.

Conclusion

After reading this, I really hope that you understand why it is so important to exercise regularly. I’d like thank all my readers who stand to benefit from this article. Stay blessed!

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Use your subconscious mind to change your life

Your brain is a powerful tool.

We humans have a gifted organ called the brain. The brain is about 15 cm long. It weighs around 1400 grams. 

Some people aren't too sure about the difference between the subconscious and the conscious mind, so I will clarify the difference between the two.

The difference between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind

The physical brain

The physical brain is an organ with no actual muscle tissue (except for the muscle tissue in the middle layer of the arteries that carry blood to the brain).

A new perspective on mental rest

Current research reveals that the brain never stops working. It is active for all 24 hours of the day. 

You might have heard people say, “Let me give my brain some rest” or "take a mental break".

That doesn’t mean that you are asking your brain to sleep or stop working. It simply switches from prioritizing some functions over others. There are many parts of the brain and regular 'mental breaks' help us to keep all of them in good shape.

One part of your brain is active when you look at a beautiful sunset. Another is active when you hold a conversation. Another part of your brain works harder when you think about making a decision or calculate numbers.

We are actually giving certain parts of the brain a period of rest (less activity), instead of complete silence, so that it functions properly in the long term.

Our brain can be divided into two parts: the conscious and the subconscious mind. The brain is only one but the mind is two.

There can often be contradictions.

The subconscious mind has the power to heal your body

There is a strange phenomenon called the placebo effect. This is when people feel better after taking a certain medication, regardless of whether the medication actually helped or not. In these cases, it was actually the subconscious mind that improved the person's health - not the medication itself.

What is the subconscious mind?

Whenever you sleep, walk, talk, eat, drink, laugh, write or breathe; your subconscious mind controls the actions that need to be taken without needing much thought or effort. 

Have you ever wondered whether you could die of suffocation because you forget to breathe? Thankfully, your subconscious mind does all of these repetitive tasks for you. 

Your conscious mind isn't in control of these actions (unless you focus on your breathing like during meditation). These things happen without your need to focus on them because your subconscious is in control of it.

There are some important bodily functions that the subconscious mind handles exclusively (you can't take conscious control of them). Think of your heart beat and what you dream about as good examples.

The subconscious is unseen, but powerful.

What is the conscious mind?

Conscious mind is responsible for deliberate thoughts and actions. It's the little voice that you hear inside your head whenever you think of something.

If I decide to go to the bathroom, my conscious mind decides to initiate the action. My subconscious mind then takes over because I don't need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other in order to get there.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t control your subconscious brain. You can control it. The subconscious mind is, in fact, a powerful tool that you can use to improve your life drastically.

You can use your brain like a tool.

How to control your subconscious mind

1. Meditation
2. Affirmations
3. Believe in yourself
4. Eliminate negative thoughts
5. Avoid words like don’t, no or never

1. Meditation

Meditation is calming, relaxing, peaceful and strangely energizing. Almost everybody has heard about how good mediation is for your mental and physical health, but very few have actually given it a good try. 

You can meditate at almost any place, any time of the day. It has amazing health benefits as well.

2. Listen to positive affirmations (or create some of your own)

Affirmations are designed to train your brain to think along certain pathways. Listening to positive affirmations is a very powerful and easy way to take control of your subconscious mind. It brings positivity and a sense of accomplishment to your mind and helps you to think along the lines of whatever you want to achieve.

3. Believe in yourself

After reading the power of your subconscious mind, what I’ve realized is that unless you believe in yourself; you won’t be good at something. To achieve anything you should have blind faith in yourself - and in your subconscious brain's ability to complete the task.

4. Eliminate negative thoughts

You might have seen people saying that they don’t like do this or that they don’t like that. Have you ever noticed that people who don't like something seem to struggle with that very same thing?

If you don't like people who raise their voice, you will notice more people doing it. If we focus on the negative, we open our mental eyes up that that negativity and will start to see it everywhere. If you tell yourself that you are tired, you will become even more tired because things get bigger when you focus on them.

5. Try to avoid negative words like don’t, no or never

Don't think of ice cream!

Did you think of ice cream? If you wanted to avoid thinking of ice cream, try thinking about your favorite fruit instead.

As soon as you try to avoid something mentally, your brain will fixate on it because it perceives that as a danger. If you say an affirmation like 'I am not tired. I am not tired. I am not tired', you will feel more tired. 'Tired' is the keyword that goes into your subconscious. Try a positive variation like 'energized' instead.

Invest in your brain.

Closing comments

I'd like to thank SA Spotters readers and Saguren Redyrs for reading my words. I hope that this information has helped you. Wishing for your good health:

Utkarsh Sharma:

Director of Sparkle Purpose

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Three 5-minute hacks to improve your health right now

You can become healthier in 5 minutes.

Health refers to how well your body functions. Every decision that you make will impact your health. This includes every food choice, every emotional response to a situation and everything that you do in your spare time.

Many people are intimidated by the idea of health. It often feels like you need to make big sacrifices or get really uncomfortable if you want to improve your health. While the big decisions really are great for health, the small decisions are, too. Here are simple ways to get better in 5 minutes or less.

How to improve your health in 5 minutes

1. Write in a gratitude journal
2. Do jumping jacks for as long as what feels comfortable
3. Take some time to relax before falling asleep

Small things make a big difference.

1. Write in a gratitude journal

Keep a journal wherever you go. Find 5 minutes every day to jot down a list of things that you are grateful for. 

You can do this any time, but I like to do it when I am stressed at work because it counters the negative effects of stress that we encounter at work.

Our brains are wired to look for negative, stressful things. If we didn't pay attention to these things, we would never deal with them and our safety would be compromised. Cortisol, the stress hormone, actual gives you the energy to finish a stressful situation.

The problem comes in when we stress too often. Cortisol stays elevated and we feel stressed out the whole time. This leads to an increase in anxiety, muscle tension, inability to sleep and lack of motivation because of burnout.

Gratitude, on the other hand, trains our brains to focus on the positive things that we have in our life. This puts us into a state of peace. Your body needs to alternate between stages of stress and peace. Too much stress will burn you out.

Gratitude will help you to feel better and remind yourself that your life isn't going as bad as what you think it is.

Mental health plays a large role in physical health.

Gratitude is good for you.

2. Do jumping jacks for as long as what feels comfortable

The idea of exercise can be quite intimidating. A few minutes a day is much better than nothing at all.

Jumping jacks are quick, easy to do, don't require much space and don't take much time to get your heart rate up. 

You can do them any time of the day, but I recommend that you do them during the times that you feel the most tired. This is because you can use exercise to tell your body when to produce more energy and when to relax.

There are so many benefits of exercise like disease prevention, improved motivation, reduces anxiety, an improved immune system and increased energy levels. 5 Minutes a day is a really good start.

See how easy it is to start exercising when you break it down into smaller goals. 

Try doing jumping jacks for as long as what feels comfortable and you will feel your mood improve instantly. Do it for a few days in a row and you will start feeling motivated to do even more.

Start small to win big.

3. Take some time to relax before falling asleep

Many people struggle to get a good night's rest. There are many ways that you can fall asleep faster and improve your sleep quality.

All of them help you to get away from a stressful state and fall into a peaceful state of relaxation. The more relaxed you are before falling asleep, the better you will sleep.

Relaxation has many benefits like lowered blood pressure, improved digestion, maintenance of blood sugar, improved blood flow to muscles and other tissues, reduced muscle tension, reduced chronic or prolonged pain, better sleep quality, higher energy levels and less fatigue, less stress hormone activity, lower heart rate and a slower breathing rate.

Give yourself 5 minutes to relax and feel at peace with yourself when you first climb into bed. This will help you to enter into a state of relaxation much quicker. The more often you do it, the easier it will become.

Relaxation improves your health.

Try to do all three of the 5-minute health hacks every day. That will total 15 minutes daily. Let me know how you get on with these ideas in the comments below. Stay Strong!

Exercise for autophagy

Exercise induces autophagy

We know that exercise has health benefits for almost every part of your body. It most definitely increases life span. Is autophagy one of the ways in which exercise does this?

Exercise causes autophagy

Studies have found that exercise increases autophagy activity in many parts of the body including the brain, muscles, heart, liver and fat tissue. Your immune cells also go through autophagy when you exercise. Autophagy from exercise occurs through the same pathways as calorie restriction or fasting.

Exercise renews important body parts.

Definition of autophagy

It literally means eat yourself. Autophagy is a biological process that has many favorable health benefits. It is the process by which the body breaks down old, damaged cells and cleans up cellular waste in order to recycle the nutrients. This removes damaged cells and makes way for newer cells.

Autophagy has been touted as a remarkable way to prevent degenerative diseases like cancer and mental illnesses because it removes the damaged cells that causes these diseases. Removal of these cells makes way to new cells to form.

It can even remove symptoms of aging like wrinkles and skin tags.

Exercise stimulates autophagy immensely

Multiple studies show that exercise causes a 'potent' stimulation of autophagy in muscle, heart, liver, pancreas, fat, brain and immune cells.

The above source says that energetic stress is what causes such high autophagy activity.

When your body needs energy, it will break down old and damaged cells to get it. Fat isn't the only unwanted body tissue that exercise (and energy deprivation) clears away.

The text explains that autophagy provides an emergency, alternative energy source in muscle tissue. There are other ways that exercise induces autophagy. Protein and mitochondria damage stimulates autophagy to clean up the damage and create new cells.

Increased mitochondrial respiration (using oxygen to create energy), higher reactive oxygen species (from exercise) and an increased immune response to pain or muscle damage also increase autophagy.

Exercise helps the body to clean up.

Exercise causes cellular damage to proteins and organelles (parts of cells) via heat, mechanical stress and changes in the pH level. Autophagy activates during exercise to clear these damages away and prevent them from accumulating.

How much autophagy do you get from exercise?

This depends on the intensity of the exercise (source). The greater the cellular stress and protein damage caused by exercise, the greater the amount of autophagy that exercises stimulate.

If you want to maximize the autophagy-boosting benefits of exercise; increase the intensity, duration or frequency so that greater cellular damage leads to a greater autophagy response.

Remember to get enough rest from exercise and avoid over training, which may cause the body to break down more than what it can rebuild.

Exercise triggers autophagy.

Is autophagy from exercise the same as autophagy from calorie restriction or fasting?

The two are extremely similar. Both of them use identical pathways in many instances.

Exercise activates AMPK just like calorie restriction does. The degree to which AMPK is activated depends on the intensity of exercise.

AMPK is the pathway that turns on autophagy (recycling of damaged parts of cells).

The moral of the story is this: You get very similar benefits of autophagy from exercise compared to the autophagy benefits that you get from calorie restriction or fasting.

Exercise clears damaged cells.

Does exercise duration increase autophagy?

Yes it does. Autophagy activity increases in proportion to exercise duration. The linked study notes that the autophagy activity is most likely one of the major contributing factors to the overall benefits of exercise. The health benefits of exercise increase along with prolonged exercise duration and frequency. Autophagy increases in the same way.

What type of exercise promotes the most autophagy?

All forms of exercise increase autophagy. The degree to which autophagy is activated depends on the intensity.

Muscle growth cannot happen without autophagy.

Resistance training induces autophagy. 

Autophagy increases cardiovascular function as a result of endurance exercise.

Intensity matters.

Is exercise better than fasting or calorie restriction for autophagy?

This study says that exercise is the greatest stress that the body faces. It is the stressful state (hormesis) that activates autophagy. The last link explains that stress, of almost any kind, becomes beneficial because of the autophagy response.

I would therefore conclude that exercise is the best way to induce autophagy - IF you do it in such a way that it causes enough stress to induce a lot of autophagy.

Intensity matters. A walk to the bathroom won't induce nearly as much autophagy as a 24 hour fast.

Exercise remains supreme.

Does this mean that you should forego fasting or calorie restriction you're doing it for the autophagy benefits? You should read the linked research and decide for yourself.

Is one option truly superior or more complete than the other? We just don't know enough about autophagy to know for sure yet.

Personally, I do both (along with other positive things like cold training and heat therapy).

It is always better to do more, instead of less, when it comes to your health. Stay Strong!

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